Baptist Ecclesiology

This short essay will concern itself with the ecclesiology of the Baptist denomination. However, it will do so by following Scriptural prescriptions and doctrines found within the Bible. It will look at the topics of the church’s view on its own purpose, membership, disciplinary action, leadership, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, relationship with other churches, and the relationship it has with the state and politics.

Purpose of the Church

The church has different purposes for believers and unbelievers. To believers the church is a body of like minded people who have been saved by the atonement of their Lord, Jesus Christ. They are still sinners, but the church serves as a community where sanctification, building up in the Faith and holiness, and education about God and the Gospel can and does occur. To unbelievers, the church is foolish because it believes and carries the Gospel which is also foolishness to unbelievers. However, Christians know that the church’s purpose to and for unbelievers is to be a light and a witness of the saving Gospel of Jesus. The church practices the Great Commission and “makes disciples of all the nations, baptizing them… teaching them to observe all that [Jesus] commanded [them]”¹ (Matt. 28:19-20). In order for this to happen, the church must go to unbelievers as a light that brings faith through the hope of the Good News. It is best summarized that the church gives opportunity for believers to minister the Gospel to each other and to unbelievers.

Matthew 5:16; 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 18; Ephesians 4:16; 5:25-27; Colossians 1:2; 2:19; 1 Peter 2:12.

Church Membership

Church membership should be taken seriously and the members of a church should only be composed of baptized believers. This idea within Baptist doctrine is called regenerate church membership. Scripture is clear that the church is composed of those who are called by God and are therefore regenerated by Him. This collection of regenerate members helps to fortify consensus on important theological ideas and doctrines. Moreover, when these believers put their doctrine into writing to authenticate (based upon Scriptural convictions) and describe what a believer looks like, membership is protected from invading unbelievers that may seek to corrupt the established consensus within the body. These pieces of writing found in Baptist churches are called covenants, just like the covenants God made with His creation and His people. It is important to note that the doctrine of regenerate membership is not unloving to unbelievers. Rather, as discussed previously, the church has two focuses and purposes: the cultivation of believer’s spiritual maturity and the evangelism of unbelievers. Regenerate church membership is focused on the first of the purposes. The latter purpose does not generally occur within the body of church members but externally with the church serving in missionary endeavors. This controversial, yet understandable and edifying, doctrine of regenerate church membership will be discussed again in the section on baptism.

Nehemiah 8-10; Matthew 16:19; Acts 2:41, 47; 4:4; 14:21; Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2; Ephesians 1:1; 4:16; 5:25-27; Colossians 1:2; 2:19; Jude 1.

Church Discipline

Sometimes, discipline is necessary within the church. While the term has a negative connotation, it could not be more loving. Pastors and lay elders take care of the needs of their congregations and defend them from danger and error. They desire to promote holiness within their individual churches and church discipline rests upon the desire of God for his people to be holy like Him. Therefore, the church practices discipline to pursue holiness together and to inspire individuals to do the same. Discipline is not often drastic. It can include removing an offender from their office or teaching post, or counseling them regularly through their sin. However, an unfortunate consequence of sin and church discipline will be further discussed in the section on the Lord’s Supper.

Matthew 16:19; 18; 1 Corinthians 5; 11:28-30; 2 Corinthians 2; Ephesians 4:1; 2 Thessalonians; Hebrews 12:6, 7-11; 1 Peter 1:15.

Church Leadership Structure

The church is composed of offices: pastors, elders, deacons, and staff. These offices serve different roles, but they all exist to build up the body in unity and run the church as a form of government. The elder’s chief role is to shepherd the flock through pastoral care, preaching, and teaching. There is fundamentally not a difference for the role of the pastor. He is simply the head or a paid elder. The deacons are to support the elders and provide ministry for the congregants as well as to assist in supporting the church in financial matters but not to oversee them. Staff, depending on the church, can function like deacons or assistants in ministry. All of the church offices are held to a high standard and have several qualifications that the Lord has provided. Overall, the leaders must be above reproach, honorable, and Christians that take their faith and calling seriously.

Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:1-16; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-2.

Baptism

Baptism is a public profession of faith for believing adults or children of spiritual maturity. It serves as an entryway or door into church membership, almost guaranteeing regenerate church membership. Of course, there are always false baptisms. The same can be said of any denominational context. However, Baptists do a great job at discerning the call upon an individual’s life and working with them to make sure they are truly regenerate and saved prior to their decision for Baptism. They achieve this task through raising their children in the faith, teaching youth, and catechizing or reading through a series of questions and answers written to promote a better understanding of the Christian religion and the Baptist denomination. The seriousness of Baptism is due to its meaning in the church: identifying with Christ in His life, Death, and Resurrection. Like Jesus, the believer dies to sin and is resurrected as a new creation with the gift of Christ’s righteousness. Baptism is overall the outward representation of putting off of the old self and putting on the new. Therefore, it is the main requirement to become a member in most Baptist churches.

Matthew 3:13-17; 28:16-20; Acts 2:38, 41; 8:12-13, 36-38; 9:18; 10:47-48; 11:16; 16:15, 32-33; 18:8; 22:16; Romans 5:12-21; 6:1-14; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Galatians 2:20; 3:27; Colossians 3:9, 12; 1 Peter 3:21.

The Lord’s Supper

The Lord’s supper or Communion is a remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to pay for the sins of those who believe in Him. While there are many interpretations and beliefs about the Lord’s Supper in the Baptist tradition, including who is able to participate, they all have one thing in common: Communion is done in both celebration and mourning in order to remember the sacrifice Christ made for the sinners He called His own. When partaking in the Lord’s Supper, believers mourn over Jesus’ crushed body and spilt blood, but also rejoice by recognizing that it was done for their sake and His glory. It is to be done with reflection, confession, and repentance, and can be a means of church discipline if one disqualifies himself from the ordinance by actively sinning against the Lord publicly. However, an individual who has been disqualified can again participate in Communion by reflecting on their sin, confessing it, repenting, and asking for forgiveness. The purpose of celebrating the Supper is of course devotional in remembering Christ’s sacrifice, but it is also done in community because it builds the church up together.

Matthew 27:17-30; Mark 14:12-26; Luke 22:7-30; 1 Corinthians 5:7-11; 11.

Extra-Church Fellowship

When churches work together, the Great Commission is further realized and accomplished. Baptists have interchurch ministries that accomplish this task such as the Cooperative Program. The program accepts regular donations from Baptist churches all over and provides the money to other international ministries like the International Mission Board (IMB) and the North American Mission Board (NAMB) in order to preach the Gospel to the world and to take care of the world’s physical and spiritual needs. The motivation and nature of interaction between churches and organizations that steward their giving is the desire to live and carry out the Great Commission and to become one, unified body that the Lord commanded of His church. This cooperation between churches is similar to what the church experienced in Acts. Churches from different regions were providing, sending aid and letters, and praying for other churches and other ministries as one body. They truly embodied the idea of a unified, catholic church.

Matthew 28:16-20; Acts; Ephesians 4.

Church’s Relationship to the State

The Southern Baptist Convention has a division called the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. They are an example of one way the church relates to politics in the culture. While it is important for churches to seek to influence the world and bring the Gospel to as many people as possible, they must recognize that they are composed of citizens of another realm, the heavenly realm. Also, they must recognize that Jesus tears down barriers of all sorts including political and ethnic barriers like He did for the Jews and the gentiles. Therefore, the church ought to advocate for liberty in politics and denounce sin no matter where it is found.

John 18:36; Ephesians 2:13-16.

Footnotes

1. Unless otherwise specified, all Bible references in this paper are to the New American Standard Bible (NASB) (La Habra: Foundation Publication, 1995). ↩